Exhaustion and Friendship
by elsiecarson
Summary: DCI Lewis is attempting to solve a very difficult case. Late one night he shows up on Laura Hobson's doorstep looking for someone to talk to.
1. Late Night Visit

Laura has just turned out all the light on the first floor and is about to go up to bed when there's a knock at the front door. She turns on the light outside the front door. She's surprised to see Robby standing there since they weren't supposed to meet tonight. "Robby, come in. Is something wrong? You look upset."

Robby immediately puts his arms around Laura and holds her tightly. "It was just a really long day. I needed to see you."

Laura runs her hands up and down Robby's back. She wants Robby to be calm and happy. "Come on in. I was going to head up to bed, but do you want a glass of wine?"

"That would be nice. Thanks Laura." Robby follows Laura into the house.

Laura turns the lights back on as she walks through the house to the kitchen. She pours two glasses of wine and passes one to Robby. She and Robby walk into the living room and Robby slumps onto the sofa. He looks tired and frustrated. Laura sips her wine and waits for Robby to be ready to talk.

Robby swirls the wine in his glass. To someone watching him it's as if he's looking through the glass. He's not even in the same room, mentally, with Laura. He slowly sips his wine and tries to relax. He leans back into the sofa and sighs heavily. "This case is driving me crazy. I can't get a handle on it."

"Let your mind rest, Robby. You can't solve everything overnight. Just let things percolate tonight and see what you think in the morning. You look as if you haven't slept for a week." Laura urges Robby. She doesn't want him to get sick.

"I'm so tired." Robby admits to Laura. He sets his wine glass down and leans his head on the back of the sofa. His exhaustion shows in his body language.

"Well, if you're that tired we should go to bed. We both have to be at work in the morning. You will stay, won't you?" Laura asks gently.

"If you want me to stay I will stay. I like being with you." Robby admits tiredly to Laura.

"Leave your wine glass here and we'll go up to bed. Let me just put the wine away and we can go to bed." Laura stands up and tucks the bottle of wine back in the fridge and walks back into the living room. "Come on, let's go to bed. You need to sleep." Laura holds her hand out for Robby to take.

Robby slowly reaches for Laura's hand and grasps it tightly. He stands up and follows Laura as she pulls him along with her. Laura turns the lights off as they go. She slowly climbs the stairs with Robby behind her. She's nervous about this moment, but also excited.


	2. I'm Not Sure

Robby pauses on threshold to Laura's bedroom before Laura pulls him into the room. "I don't have anything to wear." Robby mumbles as his face turns very red.

"Just wear your shorts. I don't mind. I'm just going to change. You go ahead and make yourself comfy." Laura smiles at Robby as she grabs some pj's and heads into the bathroom.

Robby is nervous. He's not sure he wants Laura to see him in his shorts and he certainly doesn't want her to see his bare chest, at least not yet. He quickly strips down to his shorts and undershirt and slips between the covers.

In the bathroom Laura is leaning against the sink breathing heavily. She's as nervous as Robby is in the other room. She changes into her pyjamas and washes her face. She takes a deep breath before she opens the door and goes back into the bedroom. Robby looks so anxious when Laura enters the room. He's sitting very stiffly on the bed. Laura smiles and walks slowly towards the bed.

"I'm not so sure about this, Laura." Robby says timidly.

Laura covers Robby's hand with hers and says, "I know you're nervous. It's okay to be nervous. Just give me a chance. I'm nervous too. We only have to try. Don't be anxious." Laura slides beneath the covers next to Robby. She leans over and kisses his cheek before she reaches up and turns the lights off. She snuggles down into the covers. This winter has been very cold. She suddenly feels Robby's presence directly behind her. She carefully moves back against Robby's chest. She doesn't want to scare him. She can feel and hear Robby take a deep breath before he slides his arm around her petite waist. Laura sighs contentedly and sinks her head onto her pillow. Having Robby next to her makes her feel safe and helps her to sleep better and longer. Laura rests her hand on top of Robby's on her waist. She feels Robby's breathing even out as he falls asleep next to her.


	3. Early Morning Coffee Making

Robby is confused when he wakes up the next morning. The room is unfamiliar and he has his arm around a woman. He doesn't remember having too much to drink last night. He hasn't been in bed with someone since his wife died. Whoever he is holding feels soft under his hand and smells nice. As the scent registers in his brain he realizes he's lying next to Laura. He sends up a hope that he didn't do anything too untoward last night. He runs his hand down Laura's side and is relieved to feel fabric under his fingers. He wouldn't mind making love to Laura, in fact it would be amazing, but he'd like to remember that moment. He also notes that the alarm clock hasn't gone off yet. He decides to ignore that fact and pulls the cover up and tries to fall back to sleep. After a half hour of lying awake looking at the back of Laura's blonde head Robby finally concedes and climbs out of bed. He goes down to Laura's kitchen and goes on the hunt for coffee. As he moves around the kitchen his memories of last night come back and he smiles. He knows he should be checking his phone and getting back to the case, but can't bring himself to get moving without saying something to Laura. He finally finds the coffee beans and then has to go looking for the coffee grinder and the coffee pot. He's trying to be quiet so he doesn't wake Laura, but the minute the coffee grinder goes on he knows he's probably woke her up. He hears her light footsteps on the stairs as she comes down to the kitchen. "Morning Laura," Robby calls before she enters the kitchen.

"Morning," Laura comes into the kitchen and wraps her arms around Robby's waist. "It was lovely to have you here last night."

"It was so nice to wake up next to you. It's been a long time. Can I pour you some coffee?" Robby asks gently.

"Coffee would be fabulous." Laura takes her mug from Robby carefully knowing the outside of the mug will be very hot. She sits down at the kitchen table and waits for Robby. "Do we want to sit outside with our coffee?"

"That would be nice." Robby says turning towards Laura with his mug.


	4. Backyard Coffee and Conversation

Laura has pulled a robe on over her pyjamas to keep off the morning chill. She walks outside sipping her coffee as Robby follows her out to the swing she has set up outside. "I love this time of the morning out here." Laura whispers.

Robby puts his arm around Laura's shoulders and kisses the top of her head. He's surprised he hasn't woken up from this dream he feels like he's in. He's afraid to move and break the spell of the morning. He's sure his mobile phone will break the spell soon enough. Laura leans closer to Robby and he is, again, lost in the moment until Laura kisses his cheek. By the time he gets around to tasting his coffee it's lukewarm, but he doesn't really notice. Laura is the only things that matters to him right now. He doesn't want to disturb Laura she looks so peaceful. She sets her coffee cup down and puts her arm around Robby's waist. She doesn't want to move and head off to work. "Shouldn't you be heading to work?" Robby finally whispers.

"I don't want to move. I can't quite believe this moment is happening between the two of us. We've wasted so much time already. Why do I want to waste more time with you by going to work? This quiet time is so nice and I appreciate it so much." Laura says with a genuine smile.

Robby chuckles at Laura's words. She's being so sweet today, but she always is quite sweet to him which always surprises Robby. "I don't want to move either. I hope Hathaway has got some new info on the case, but suddenly I'm not feeling very well. I think I've come down with a touch of food poisoning from a leftover takeaway my girlfriend reheated and she's not feeling well either." Robby smirks at Laura. He knows it's lying to do as he's suggesting, but he doesn't want to go to work today.

Laura sighs and smiles at Robby. "I suppose I could afford to take the day off. I'll go in and call and you can call from out here and then we'll meet back in the living room with hot coffee."


	5. Down Time

Robby quickly comes back inside not wanting to be out of Laura's presence for long. Laura is already sitting on the sofa, the BBC morning news on the television, and a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. Robby sits next to Laura after he pours himself a fresh cup of hot coffee. "Everything all settled for today then? You obviously got the day off." Robby asks teasingly.

"Yes, I did and obviously so did you which is probably good since it looks as if you could use some more sleep. You look absolutely exhausted." Laura comments.

"Ah, I just get caught up in cases that I can't figure out and I sit up for a long time trying to square the circle. My brain doesn't like loose ends and right now there's a lot of those in this case. I called Hathaway and he said, "At least I know you're in good hands. Don't be a pest." He's right; I am in good hands, I'm just not sick." Robby brushes off Laura's concern.

Laura smiles brightly at Robby. He has an excellent sense of humour when he's not working. "How are Lynn and the baby?"

Robby's face brightens at the mention his granddaughter. "They're great. Baby's growing all the time and Lynn's always calling to ask for parenting advice. It would be better if her mum were here for her to talk to really. I wasn't the best dad in the world and I don't remember a lot about when Lynn was a baby. I was so tired all the time when she was really young. She was a sweet baby and so is my granddaughter. Lynn sends me pictures all the time. She's absolutely beautiful and Lynn says when I call she loves to hear my voice. It's fun."

"You sound like such a proud grandpa, Robby. It's so nice to hear from you this way. You sound so proud of your daughter. I know how hard it must be to know that Val won't get to see your granddaughter grow up. Do you tell your granddaughter about Val?" Laura asks softly.

"I tell the baby about Val every chance I get. I sent Lynn some pictures of Val to put in the baby's room. I don't want the baby to not know her grandma. Val would love this. She was so good with our Lynn when she was a baby. I loved watching Val and Lynn together when Val didn't know I was there. The two of them were so sweet." Robby sighs.

Laura reaches for Robby's hand to reassure him. She doesn't mind talking about Val. She knows he sometimes needs to talk about his late wife.


End file.
